Year Six – Day 23

He's not in the creche nor in the Temple this time. It appears he's on a ship and wearing a parka. Dooku is holding the recorder in his hands and a cold mist escapes his lips as he breathes.

Today was great despite Denton being the one to show us to the crystal caves of Ilum. He's a Padawan now, I think of about two years now. I should be happy for him but I haven't forgotten what he did to me when we were littler. But that doesn't matter right now. What matters is this!

The image shifts as he holds the recorder in one hand and shows a tiny object in the other, between two gloved fingers. It is a yellow crystal and seems to glisten and vibrate slightly.

I got my first lightsaber crystal! Master Yoda says it won't be enough to make my new saber deadly, but it will have an important role in our continued training when we learn to construct lightsabers for the first time. When a Master takes me as his Padawan, I'll be coming back here for a second test and another crystal. This one and the second I will be able to construct my real lightsaber with. I'll also be alone too. The test I took today was called The Gathering, a ridiculous name if you asked me. I would call it the Temperance or some such since it tests who you are and your self-control. I learned that I can control my temper and set aside my pride...

"You needed the lesson," came Denton's voice as he entered the cabin after the others had settled in. He stopped in front of Dooku and looked down at him. The Zabrak was far taller than the human boy, but that was only because he was a couple years older than Dooku. "Still record on that silly thing?"

Hey! Give it back!

The image shifts to Denton's alien face, the tribal tattoos of his Iridonian clan can be clearly seen. Thin, inked lines crisscross a mild pattern across his cheeks, nose and chin with one line going straight down the middle of his brow to his center horn.

It seems you still need to learn self-control and detachment since you seem quite attached to this toy still. How old are you, Yan? Ten now and still playing with toys?

It is not a toy and I will learn, just not with you around! Don't you have something better to do, like maybe help the pilot get the shuttle in the air?

The image abruptly shifts as its yanked out of Denton's grip and back into Dooku's. Denton just rolls his eyes and walks away to check on the other younglings. Dooku scowls into his recorder before shutting it off, his good mood gone.

Year Six – Day 24

Dooku's location has changed again, he's aboard another ship and alone in a barracks like room. There are a lot of double bunks and he's sitting on the top one, holding his yellow lightsaber crystal in hand. He's looking it over with a keen interest, as if trying to commit to memory every aspect of it.

It sings, you know. The crystal. I can hear it's melody. It sounds sweet, like the music Madame Ova Yannu listens to sometimes when she's busy in the gardens. I remember her telling me once that the plants like it and I never really understood how something with no ears could like what it cannot hear. She said they do just not in the same way we do.

He shrugs lightly and continues to examine his crystal.

I guess I am a plant, because I don't hear it's music with my ears, I hear it in the Force. It sings to me, telling me that we are together, we are one. It is warm in the Force even though its cold to the touch. I knew it was my crystal when I saw it. I was drawn to it in the caves, telling me that I had a lot of anger and pride, but I could conquer it if I just trusted the Force. So I did and its song grew louder and more welcoming.

He holds it up to the recorder and turns it so the device got just about every angle of the crystal.

I like it. It feels... I dunno how to describe how it feels. Like a friend, maybe? That I can trust it and it would never fail me.

Master Yoda once spoke how the crystal was the heart and soul of a lightsaber, that our connection to it is what allowed us to make the blade an extension of ourselves. It is why we believe it is our very life. That when a Jedi loses the weapon, he loses a part of himself as if he had lost a limb. He says that is why it is very difficult for Jedi to build a second lightsaber, because it takes time and meditation to find a new crystal in the Ilum caves, one that is willing to reveal itself to the Jedi.

I never understood what he meant by that until now. Before, I thought crystals were just gemstones that focused the energy of the lightsaber into a blade. So when he spoke of them being alive, I didn't believe him. But now I do, now I understand. They are alive in the Force, almost as if they truly are sentient.

Dooku closes his fingers around the small crystal, grinning like a child that has gotten the best present in the whole galaxy on Life Day.

I won't lose mine, ever!